30 November 2018
Think of the private sector in space, and chances are that SpaceX comes to mind. But rocket by rocket, payload by payload, communist China is laying the foundations for the future domination of the private space industry. For the moment, China is the fourth-largest market for private aerospace investment behind the U.S., U.K. and France. It has attracted just 3 percent of the world’s total private investment in this sector since 2009, but it’s the fastest-growing market in the world, according to New York–based Space Angels, which offers financial services to the industry.
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30 November 2018
Chinese engineers have achieved important progress in developing Long March 5B, a launch vehicle for China's space station modules, as development has moved from the prototype phase to flight model phase. A committee of experts from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp and its research institute, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, held a meeting to review the vehicle program on 29 November.
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01 December 2018
China's first global mobile satellite communication and internet space project via low earth orbit (LEO) satellites has been launched in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. The project features hundreds of LEO satellites and a global data processing center, which can help realize global two-way communication in real time under complicated geological conditions 24 hours a day upon completion. The project has drawn an investment of about 20 billion RMB (approx. 2.9 billion U.S. dollars) for its first phase, making it the largest investment for a single commercial aerospace program in China.
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30 November 2018
Chang’e-4 will arrive where no craft has been before: the far side of the Moon. The mission is scheduled to launch from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province on 8 December. The craft, comprising a lander and a rover, will then enter the Moon’s orbit, before touching down on the surface. If the landing is successful, the mission’s main job will be to investigate this side of the lunar surface, which is peppered with many small craters. The lander will also conduct the first radio astronomy experiments from the far side of the Moon - and the first investigations to see whether plants will grow in the low-gravity lunar environment.
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related:
Chang’e 4 Preview by Science Magazine: China sets out for the far side of the Moon
China's ambitious program of lunar exploration is about to attempt a spacefaring first: On 8 December it will launch a probe intended to land on the far side of the Moon.
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